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  • Ancic vs. Gulbis in marquee Metz matchup

    9/29/08 8:14 AM | Ricky Dimon
    - Mario Ancic will take on Ernests Gulbis in the Open de Moselle first round in what could be the most interesting clash of the entire week. It's hard to know what to expect from either player at the moment.

    A ton of talent will be on display when Mario Ancic meets Ernests Gulbis in the first round of the Open de Moselle in Metz, France. The question is whether or not that talent will produce stellar tennis on Monday afternoon.

    Both men come into this event littered with question marks. As usual, the issues surrounding Ancic are physical. After being sidelined at the start of the year with various injuries, Ancic was most recently shelved by an illness. He missed most of the U.S. Open Series--including the U.S. Open--and had not played since the Masters Series Canada until he returned for a Davis Cup tie two weeks ago. When healthy, however, the 6'5'' Croat can be extremely dangerous. Along with a handful of stellar performances in 2008, Ancic reached the fourth round of the Masters Series Miami and the quarterfinals of Wimbledon.

    Gulbis had injury concerns of his own earlier in the season, but with him the issues are usually mental. The 20-year-old Latvian can look unbeatable at times, but brainless play makes him one of the most inconsistent players on tour right now. For example, Gulbis reached the quarterfinals of the French Open on what should be by far his worst surface. At the other end of the spectrum, he has put on dismal displays recently in dreadful losses to Jose Acasuso and Teimuraz Gabashvili. Gulbis also barely stayed on the court with Nikolay Davydenko in a first-round loss at the Olympics.

    If there has ever been a match that is impossible to predict, this one is it. Ancic looked decent in a close Davis Cup win over Thomaz Bellucci, but his form is still in serious doubt due to his lack of match play. Gulbis has Top 5-talent but has been uninspired in recent weeks. If Gulbis is connecting on his huge first serves, he will dictate the outcome of this showdown. The problem for Gulbis, however, is that he probably needs to win this decisively if he is going to win at all. He has failed to close out tight matches on a number of occasions in 2008, and Ancic will have an edge in both experience and mental toughness if this match is tight. If Ancic can shake off the rust quickly and keep it close, the No. 8 seed will have a great chance of advancing.

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Comments

gulbis won!!!ahhh! im so happy..

gulbisfreak , 9/29/08 7:19 PM


cbs: you are going to be thrilled about this!!

ed251137 , 9/29/08 7:59 PM


Great Match of Gulbis. Tipsarevic for the Round 2!

pachouille , 9/30/08 1:01 AM



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